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Talk:Union of Soviet Socialist Republics/@comment-17969412-20170517034155
A quick glimpse inside the Union ---- It is a country of two sides, a land of plenty and a land of few. However, there was still an undoubted truth - the reformation of the Union has been a net positive for the entirety of the former CIS-region, which were once rocked with instability, uncertainty, and the fear of conquest. To the western observers in Europe and the United States, the Soviet Union is a land of starving peasants and tormented laborers struck heavily by a ruthless totalitarian government. It's people cry out for liberation as their personal belongings within the country are requisitioned for the state. It's government support the reign of other communist governments around the world. However, within the Soviet Union, the situation has vastly changed from the days of the Great Purge. While agricultural levels haven't quite reached the levels of Europe, it has been sufficient enough to actually ensure a large surplus of food for the entirety of the Union, even to those within Central Asia. Consumer goods brought on by the creation of private industry within the Union has multiplied the standard of living within the Soviet Union. Crime is relatively low, especially in the higher developed regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Northern and Southern Russia, Kazakhstan and the Siberian SFR. Services were well funded by the Lavochkin bureaucracy, which cut some of the military's funding in favor of economic and individual development throughout the country. Foreign relations, while historically bad, were much improved. Currently, the country has pacts, trade deals, and alliances with much of the world, even with countries that are imperialist (Telosia) or capitalist (Mexico). With the lifting of travel restrictions throughout the Union, it has allowed new minorities to enter the Soviet Union, and it has allowed the citizenry to travel to other countries, facilitating the transfer of population. However, not all is happy within the Union. With economic liberalization comes inequality. While the more rural provinces had relatively balanced equality throughout their towns, the cities were anything but that. While it wasn't as large as other countries, economic inequality has gripped the larger cities. At Leningrad in particular, economic inequality has split the city into two, where the recent urban development of a new purpose-built business district, as well as development of massive residential districts near Leningrad has clearly shown a difference in wealth. The difference in wealth is most striking when comparing the Western SFR's like Kazakhstan and Ukraine to the smaller, less prominent SFR's like the Far-East and Tajikistan. While the core problems of the previous Soviet Union were gone - namely the totalitarian grip on society and the stagnant economic growth - political divisions within the country were still present. Disagreements of how the government should be run still exist, with some calling for a return to the days of a "heavy" government under Stalin and some calling for a return to the days of a "light" government under Gorbachev. Across the Union, ethnic tensions are still high, especially between the Russians and the Ukrainians. While the two generally get along in terms of the Union's priorities - for example, further economic development and a heavier role in containing imperialism - they disagree on issues such as more representation, more urban development in specific regions, and etc. etc. As for Lavochkin himself, he was a man of mystery - an avid defender of ideology but at the same time committing to realpolitik in times where it would best suit the Union, a hardliner who advocated for economic liberalization, and a strongman who also cut back the military. To Ukrainians and Byelorussians, he was a leader that brought new life to the Union, to the Russians, he was a con-man and an arrogant capitalist. In the end, however, Lavochkin's stance on nationalism won out: the economy is enough to win widespread support and respect from fellow countrymen in spite of historical nationalist and ethnic tensions. The GDP of the Soviet Union has reached it's highest growth rate in history, and the addition of heavy commercial interests has brought development to the Union back again, which would be important when faced with new threats in both the traditional West and East.